Steam-heating apparatus.



J. A. FERGUSON. STEAM HEATING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 26,1914.

1,131,049. Patented Mar. 9, 1915.

2 SHBETSv-SHEET 1.

@Hoff/nuja STEAM HEATING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED 1111.26, 1914.

.TAY A. FERGUSON, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

STEAM-HEATING APPARATUS.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 9, 1915.

Application led January 26, 1914. Serial No. 814,425.

To allvwhom 'it may concern.'

Be it known that I, JAY A. FERGUSON, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Steam-Heating Apparatus;and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to an appliance for electrically generating steamfor heating or other purposes, and is especially applicable to theheating of buildings.

The objects of the same are to provide an electrical steam heatingappliance which will maintain a continuous circulation of steam throughthe radiators; to utilize the condensed drain water for the purpose ofconverting the latter into steam for further circulation; prevent dirtand other foreign matter from entering the heating receptacle; andfurther to cause the drain water to be sprayed in small quantities orotherwise brought into contact with the heating element toinstantaneously convert said water into steam.

Heretofore it has been customary in the art to have the electricalenergy connected directly with the circulating means, but this form isobjectionable in that it call's for expensive insulation as well asnecessitating great precaution to prevent short circuiting of thecurrent. These objectionable features I propose to eradicate by theutilization of my invention which consists collectively in a receptacleprovided with an electrically heat- 'ed element, on which the waterconveyed in a ltered condition from my improved reservoir is sprayed;the spray is instantly converted into steam which passes to the variousradiators from whence it is returned in a condensed condition to thesupplemental tank, filtered, and again conveyed to the heatingreceptacle, where the process is repeated.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in certainnovel features of construction, and the combination and arrangement ofparts as will be more fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings in which similar parts are indicated bylike Characters-Figure l is a diagrammatic view of my improved heatingappliance. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1.Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view showing a modified form of myheating receptacle.

.Referring more particularly to the drawings, 1 represents the heatingreceptacle which is preferably in the lform of an Iangular metallic tankcomposed of two sections l and l having the right angularly extendingflanges 2 which are connected by rivets and the connection suitablypacked to form a steam tight joint. I do not limit myself to thisparticular construction or conformation of the receptacle, however, asthe latter could be readily formed of'brick and made a unitary structurewhen desired. l/Vithin the receptacle 1, I'dispose my heating elementwhich comprises ametallic plate 2 havin@ Vvertically extending flanges3, the upper edges of the latter projecting to within a foot from thetop of section 1. The plate 2 and its flanges 3 -are offset from thebottom and sidesof the receptacle 1 to form an intermediate space 4 toreceive the heating coils 5 which are properly insulated from the tank 1by' any suitable insulating material and connected by conductors 6 witha source of electrical supply 7. Hence it will be seen that I am enabledto impart .to the plate 2 and flange 3 any desired thermal efficiency sothat thewater dropping on said plate may be instantly converted yintosteam.

To facilitate the instantaneous conversion of the draina e into steam, Iform an opening 8 in the orward portion of the top .of the section l andprovide the latter with a grating 9 or, if found to be moreadvantageous, I may entirely close said opening cap. From the foregoingit will be seen that as thev water flowing from the reservoir enters thecap 10 through the opening 11 and strikes the baffle plate 12, it willbe deflected to the grate 9 from whence it is thrown in the form ofspray (by reason of the heated condition of the grate) into contact withthe electrical heating element which immediately converts it into steam,the latter passing through the opening `14 formed in the rear of thereceptacle 1 to the feed pipe 15 connected with. pipe 15 which leadstothe various radiators 16. If on the other hand .I close the opening 8`by some porous material 17, the cap 10 will then form an auxiliaryreceiver in which the water will collect, butowing to the porosity ofthe material 17, it will gradually seep through and falling on theheating element, will be converted into steam and conveyed from thereceptacle in the manner described. After the steam has passed throughthe different radiators it is condensed and the drainage formed bycondensation returned by the drain pipe 18 to the reservoir and Whilepassing through the latter is filtered and then flows in purifiedcondition to the cap 10 through the lead pipe 20.

My improved reservoir 19 which I have for convenience illustrated aboveand adn jacent to the receptacle 1 may be situated 1n any desiredlocation according to accommodation at hand. This reservoir comprises amain tank 19 having an enlarged lower portion which is divided by thetransversely extending fine wire screening 21 into supplementalreservoir 23 and filtering compartment 22. Into the latter I place anappropriate filtering substance such as charcoal so that the drainageflowing into the main tank 19 from lead pipe 18 will enter the charcoalcompartment 22 and after passing through the filtering material thereinenter the supplemental reservoir 23 where it will accumulate until itslevel reaches that of the opening to pipe 2O when it will `flowtherethrough and pass into the cap 10 communicating with the oppositeend thereof.

The tank 19 is initially filled from the main water supply with which itis con- Y nected by the pipe 24 communicating with the upper endthereof. The pipe is provided with a valve 25 so that the supply to tank19 may be regulated as desired.

The operation of my improved heating appliance/is as follows: The valve25 is opened and suiiicient water to nearly fill the same is permittedto enter, after which the valve is closed. The coils 5 are next placedin circuit which will heat the plates 2 and 3. The water in the meantimehas passed through the filtering material in chamber 22, then inpurified state to the supplemental reservoir 23 and, passing throughpipe 20 l5, through which it passes to the dierent,

radiators. -As the steam fiows through the radiator condensation-'willtake place and,

the drainage resulting therefrom is returned via the pipe 18 togetherwith Whatever steam may leave the last radiator, said steam beingcondensed in translt so that it 1s returned through said pipe 18 withthe drainage. Now, after the latter enters the tank 19 it is againfiltered, and the process'rev peated.`

By constructing 4both forms of the de-- vice as hereinbefore described,it willA be seen that a heating chamber is provided whose upper end isof 4greater area in horizontal section, than its lower end,this increasein size being extremely advantageous for the purpose of super-heatingthe steam generated from the water dripping from the grate in the inletopening of the heating chamber. It will be readily understood thatsuchdripping of water, will cause the generated steam to be very damp,this being an undesirable feature as is well known. By. the provision ofthe enlargement to the heating chamber, however, and the disposition ofa portion of the heating coil directly beneath the bottom wall of saidenlargement, the damp steam which rises into such enlarged upper end maybe trapped adjacent the sides thereof or, in other Words, may be trappeddirectly above the upper ends of the heating coils where it will besuper-heated and dried before it is discharged through the pipe 15.

I am aware that numerous devices have heretofore been provided havingyupright -heating chambers of the same horizontal area through theirlengths, these chambers being designed 'for use in connection with aheating element which is disposed directly beneath the bottom. Withthese devices, however, damp steam is discharged from the heatingchamber. Thus it will be seen that the greatest amount of efficiency isnot gained fromthese devices, whereas, with my device, as abovedescribed, and asshown in the drawings, the highest efiiciency ossibleis obtained, by the mere provision ofp the en-v larged upper end of theheating chamber.

What is claimed as new is:

A steam generator comprising a heating casing including upper and lowersections, the former having an inlet and an outlet opening, a hoodrising from the inlet opening and likewise having an inlet opening, animperforate deecting plate within the hood and located directly beneaththe inlet openmy hand in presence of two' subscribing witing thereinatranselse odhseclred at its nesses. opposite en s to sai oo w ere y tosupport said delecting plate, and a grate eX- JAY A' FERGUSON' 5 tendingacross the inlet opening of the heat- Witnesses:

in casing. y H. H. CULP,

lln testimony whereof I have hereunto set H. B. SNIDER.

